Stuck on a desert island...

EDIT (I'll play by the rules)

I would bring pen and paper and write my own goddamn books.

yeah, i know. you asked for a book. but when i'm on a desert island, i'm not worried about books.

I'd bring On The Road and/or Ulysses because being trapped with them and imminent death by boredom and exposure... is probably the only way I'll ever finish those sons of bitches.

The Little Prince

Finnegan's Wake because it is endlessly puzzling, is poetic, comedic, and a solid reminder of all those crazy dreams I had after eating ice cream and watching Disney cartoon movies, especially the original Fantasia.

If I was going to be there for the rest of my life, however, I'd take a leaf out of Labelleza's book* and take something dense. My Dad bought me Les Miserables by Victor Hugo a few years ago and I haven't got round to reading it yet, so probably that.

*..sorry that was completely unintentional.

Something pornographic.

In Search of Lost Time by Proust.

Also, subby, your avatar made me smile in what may be the crappiest day of this exam period. Thanks for posting.

This is a tough question.

Only one?

No Kindles? Probably run out of batteries anyway.

I would probably have to go with an Anthology like "The Best of Tin House" just to make sure hearing one voice over and over again didn't drive me crazy.

But if I had to have one voice do that, it might be Nabakov.

Haha, intentional or not... BURN!

That's a good choice. I think some other ones I'd consider taking would be Gravity's Rainbow and The Sound and The Fury. I haven't really tried any Pynchon or Faulkner books and sure don't want to die without giving them a stab.

I'm listing way more than one book. I'd close my eyes and pick any of the ones I've mentioned.

I actually have a short novel called The Sexual Life of Robinson Crusoe.

In it he unsuccessfully tries to have sex with a monkey, successfully has sex with Friday, and sticks a telescope up his bum.

And the cliff notes with it? haha

Infinite Jest.

I could make a fire with the pages, wipe my ass with them, or just leave the book intact and bludgeon small animals to death with it.

I have made a solemn vow to finish that novel this summer. I read Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and really liked it. The more of DFW's meta-fiction weirdness that I read, the more I enjoy it. But, yeah Infinite Jest is a motherfucker. It takes a patient reader to make it through the endlessly elaborate descriptions of the smell of a boy's locker room.

Someone gave us this book called Basic Country Skills as a gift when we moved out to the sticks. It's amazing! Covers everything from improvising a fishing line, to skinning a rabbit or squirrel, planting vegetables, and even has a section on herbs and plants that can be used as first aid. I would definitely take that book with me on my deserted island excursion.

Absolutely.

But what, specifically?

Ulysses.

Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

I'd bring fight club so I wouldn't care that I didn't have material things on an island.

But... You'd have a book...

Well they didn't talk about book burnings in fight club unless you count wanting to fight Hemmingway.

[Audible groan]

The books you own end up owning you. Amirite?

derpity derp

fsdghcamel if you were a book.

I'd be a great read. pages upon pages of absurdity, kittens, and awkward sexual tension.

Now I am certain that you'd be the book to have on an island. Myriad lifetimes of novelty and delight.

Note the pun. And the fact that I take pleasure in pointing it out.

Hattie wrote:

ha, i have this book. and the forensics handbook. both are fun to read through.. "how to jump off of a moving train" haha.

id also bring sound and the fury. it frustrated me to no end the first three times i'd started it. i sat and plunged the forth time and finally "got" it. then burned with it. it would surface sooo many memories each time i'd read it again. or i could get all depressed about my situation and bring the road :+D

i've been drinking too much for puns.

That was recommended as one of my next book club books - I thought it looked really good. Didn't realise it was so long though! No way I could get through 1079 pages in a month.

It's a great book, and a more focused reader could probably read it in a month. But, I am anything but focused. I kept putting it down and reading other things, then returning to it. So many characters are introduced that it takes a while to establish who's who, and to develop a real interest in the ongoing subplots. But once you're immersed in it, the novel really comes to life.

Wrong thread.